


The Omega House

by mitchyvolt5



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (Except for one relationship), (there's like one straight relationship in this), AU in the Omega Timeline, Awkward Romance, Big Gay Love Story, Chaotic love, DID I MENTION SLOW TO UPDATE, Drama & Romance, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Everyone else is male, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy Moments, Gaster can open portals, Gaster is like a babysitter, Gaster is their caretaker, Humor, Lots of World-Building, M/M, Might become a series, NO Swearing, No Smut, POV Third Person, Paperjam is female, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, The Omega Timeline, The kids can teleport, They are NOT brothers, adding tags as I go, to other timelines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-25 00:58:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14965664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitchyvolt5/pseuds/mitchyvolt5
Summary: What would happen if there existed an alternate universe where many Sans' resided in a house together?Chaos. That's what would happen. A bunch of chaotic relationships filled with fighting and love would happen.Includes fluff, drama, gaster as the caretaker, skeletons, and NO SMUT! Slow burn and build.EXPECT UPDATES! Updates rather slowly... as said in the tags, because I'm a procrastinator and I'm not very good at keeping on task ^_^'On hiatus at the moment, busy with life :/Chapters 1 - 10 (10's the goal for a section)Chapters 10 - ?





	1. Broken Glitches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed an error with some typos!

The vast majority don’t tend to think that alternate universes exist.

Well, they do exist.

Alternate universes, or AU’s for short, are dimensions existing primarily on separate timelines, so to speak. These timelines are bound together by an all-knowing, empty white void known as, “The Omega Timeline.”  
Our story resides in The Omega Timeline, far within the depths of the endless emptiness. Within these depths, a large, luxurious house lies on the solid ground. It has everything a being could ask for: a lounge, multiple bedrooms for living quarters, a small kitchen, several bathrooms, a gaming room, and much more.

Currently, many monsters, each from different alternate universes, reside in this house. They all are the same version of one monster, a monster named, “Sans,” from the original universe called Undertale. Two of them seemed to be fighting about something.

“I told you, Nightmare, I don’t have your stuffed animal!” a sans was yelling to another.

“For the last time, it’s not a stuffed animal, Dream!” Nightmare was shouting, his voice deep and slimy. “And I know you have it!”

“I swear, if you’d just listen to me-” Dream was about to say, but he was interrupted by a loud crash coming from the kitchen.

They both hurriedly made their way over to the kitchen area, running down a hallway and peeking past a doorway. They saw two things. There was a smashed plate on the ground, its pieces all over the place. Three very shocked Sanses were in the kitchen, seeming to have been trying to prepare a morning meal, all staring at the smashed plate.

Suddenly, one of the Sanses burst from the kitchen, sprinting to the second floor stairs while shouting, “I’m telling Dad!”

The remaining two Sanses exchanged knowing, wide-eyed glances before following suit after the first Sans. Dream and Nightmare, still unseen by the three Sanses, came out from their hiding spots, looking at each other.  
“Well?” Nightmare said impatiently, tapping his foot. “Aren’t you going to clean the mess up?” he asked Dream, pointing at the broken dish.

“What?!” Dream exclaimed loudly. “Me? This mess was _their_ fault!”

“Well, no one else is going to do it so…” Nightmare drawled. And with that, they went over to clean up the mess.

Meanwhile, with Dad.

“Now, I expect you boys to be more careful next time,” Gaster was saying to the three Sanses, Gradient, Geno, and Paperjam.

They all looked downtrodden, but Geno pointed accusingly at Paperjam, grumbling, “It was him that started it.”

Paperjam became flustered. “N-No, I didn’t!” she said.

Gaster narrowed his eyes, looking over at Paperjam. “Paper, be honest,” he said sternly.

“Oh, alright…” Paperjam said, inhaling to take a deep breath.

“It was Geno!” she shouted without warning.

Geno suddenly looked pale and he started to sweat slightly. Gradient still didn’t say anything as he nervously nibbled on his fingertips. Gaster looked over at Geno.

“Geno, is this true? Did you knock over the plate?” Gaster asked, his eyes piercing.

Geno sighed, glaring at Paperjam briefly before saying directly to Gaster’s face, “Yes, it was me.”

Gaster sighed, giving Geno a patient smile. “What am I going to do with you?” he said, half to himself.

“Go on, now. You three learned your lesson,” Gaster said, and the three went off in different directions.

Geno stayed upstairs and went to the gaming room to see what kind of games the other Sanses were playing. Gradient went with Paperjam downstairs to clean up the mess, but they were both surprised to see Dream and Nightmare already cleaning it up.

“Whoa, Dream and Nightmare working together on something?” Paperjam said out loud, causing Dream and Nightmare to look up at them both. “That’s new!”

“Well if guys hadn’t had followed Geno upstairs, we wouldn’t have had to clean it up!” Nightmare growled fiercely.

Gradient decided to speak up. “I think you guys should help each other more,” he said a little quietly.

“I should _help_ Nightmare?” Dream scoffed, throwing away the last bits of the glass shards. “Oh, no, I’m not helping that skeleton when all he does is try to manipulate others,” he said, turning around and walking off coolly.

“See, you can’t help him. He’s atrocious, just like me,” Nightmare laughed. “Well, I’m going to go see what he’s up to,” he said as he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked to wherever Dream the skeleton was.

Gradient and Paperjam were left alone in the kitchen. Silence filled the air as they gazed at each other. It was broken by Gradient.

“What now?” he said.

“How about we go see what kind of games Geno and the others are playing,” Paperjam suggested, and Gradient nodded.

They both walked back upstairs to the gaming room and they were about to open the door, only to hear the sound of arguing voices coming from inside. They decided to listen instead, propping the sides of their heads to the door.

“I swear it wasn’t me, Fell!” a glitched voice was shrieking.

“Well then who here could have _possibly_ glitched the screen, Error?!” supposedly Fell was screaming back at Error.

“I’m telling you. It was just the game this time!” Error said even louder than before.

“Um, guys, I believe Error on this one,” another squeaky voice said.

“See! He believes me,” Error said desperately.

“I believe Fell,” Geno’s voice said simply.

“Well, he believes _me_! Beat that!” Fell said tauntingly.

Gradient and Paperjam decided to open the door right then and there. Everyone in the room, which was Blueberry, Error, Fell, and Geno, all looked to stare at the two entering the room.

“Uh, what are you guys fighting about?” Paperjam asked.

“Fighting? We’re not fighting at all!” Fell said through clenched teeth. “We’re _trying_ to tell Error here that he glitched the television screen, breaking it!”

“For the last time, I didn’t _break_ the T.V! It’s fixable anyways,” Error said angrily, grumbling his last sentence.

“Ha! So you admit to glitching the screen!” Fell suddenly shouted.

Error growled, shaking furiously. “No, I didn’t.”

“Guys, we should probably ask Dad to fix the T.V. He’ll know what to do,” Geno said, gesturing to everyone around the room.

“I agree with Geno,” Gradient breathed, almost whispered. Probably because he was shy.

“No!” Error exclaimed suddenly. “We should fix it ourselves,” he suggested.

“Well I, the magnificent Sans, think that this puzzle shall be solved on its own,” Blueberry said, striking a pose.

“On its own?!” Fell screamed, standing up from the gaming couch in a fit of rage. “I say we punish Error for breaking the T.V in the first place!”

Fell cracked his knuckles, grinning, and Error gulped as Fell suddenly looked ready to pounce on him at any moment. Error stood up from the gaming couch and began to back away as Fell started to inch closer to him.

Then he jumped.

Fell and Error were now in the world’s most dangerous wrestling war. They kicked, scratched and even tried to bite each other, snarling as Error tried desperately to break free.

Gradient immediately sprinted out of the room, looking horrified with tears streaming down his face. Blueberry was looking confused, as if he wasn’t sure which side to egg on. Paperjam had rushed to Error’s side, trying to stop the fight while Geno did the same, bolting to Fell to try and tear him away from Error.

“What is going on here?!” a voice said firmly.

Gaster was in the doorway with Gradient, and he was not looking pleased in the slightest.


	2. Present-making

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The T.V incident is resolved as the Sanses around the house are making presents for Ink.

Previously:

_ “What is going on here?!” a voice said firmly. _

_ Gaster was in the doorway with Gradient, and he was not looking pleased in the slightest _ .

 

“Uh, we were just-“ Blueberry tried to say.

“Save it,” Gaster said, putting his hand up.

“Alright, everyone in a line,” Gaster said, like a general commanding his army.

Everyone immediately lined up in a horizontal line in front of Gaster, some rolling their eyes while others scoffed. The rest did as they were told.

“What happened and who did what?” Gaster asked them simply, rubbing at his temples in stress.

“It was Error!”

“It was Fell!”

“Error broke the T.V!”

“I did not!”

“Fell started it!”

“STOP!” Gaster demanded in a booming voice, and everything went deathly silent.

“Whatever caused the television to break, from my understanding it looks fixable,” Gaster said carefully. “And Fell, you know it wasn’t right to outright attack Error!”

“Sorry, Dad,” Fell mumbled, crossing his arms.

“Error, did you or did you not break the T.V?” Gaster said, his hands on his hips in concern.

“No, I didn’t! I was trying to tell them that the game froze on its own,” Error said in desperation.

Gaster stared at Error, as if trying to read him. He said hesitantly, “Alright, I’ll believe you. But only this time!”

“Fell, don’t do it again,” Gaster said powerfully.

“Yes, Dad,” Fell said with a slight growl, though he was looking Gaster straight in the eye

“Good. Now, I have to go to buy supplies for Ink’s upcoming birthday party,” Gaster said as he was about to walk out the door, but he suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked, “You guys didn’t forget, did you?”

“No,” every Sans in the room gulped.

“Alright, I’ll be back in 2 hours,” Gaster said with a smile. “Be good.”

And with that he shut the door.

Fell immediately grabbed Error by the scruff of his neck and held him up, glaring at him. Blueberry stared at the scene, wondering what to do.

“You got off lucky this time,” Fell said, his tone dangerously low. He violently released his grip on Error’s jacket. 

“This isn’t over,” Fell said as he opened the gaming room door and slammed it shut behind him.

Blueberry went to follow Fell for reasons unknown to the rest of the group. Error went to go take a nap on the living room couch. Gradient and Paperjam decided to draw together outside on the balcony, and Geno went to see Fresh.

Nightmare, during all that chaos, had gone to see Dream, who was actually preparing a gift for the supposed Ink’s upcoming birthday party. Nightmare had walked into his room, surprised upon seeing him wrapping up a present.

“Hey, Dream. What have you got there?” Nightmare asked inquisitively.

Dream turned to look at him with a dumbfounded expression. “It’s obviously a present for Ink,” he said. Then he paused, putting his hands up. “Wait, don’t tell me. You’re curious about what’s inside.”

“N-No! I just was curious as to why you would get Ink a gift so soon,” Nightmare babbled.

Dream gave him a strange look. “You really don’t know me, do you?” He continued. “Ink is my best friend. Of course I’m preparing his gift early.”

“Well I didn’t know, you dolt!” Nightmare shouted angrily. He sat down next to Dream. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “...Can I help?”

“It’s almost done but alright,” Dream said, sliding the gift between them.

“Uh, can I have some credit too?” Nightmare asked as he helped him wrap the rest of the gift.

“What’s the magic word?” Dream said in a singsong voice.

Nightmare groaned. “Please?” he said as nicely as he possibly could.   
“Okay, I’ll give you credit,” Dream said, and he wrote the following:

_ To Ink,  _

_ From Dream & Nightmare. _

“There! All done,” Dream stated, holding up the present in satisfactory victory. He then put the present in his closet for safekeeping.

Nightmare stood up, heading out of Dream’s room.

“Where are ya’ going?” Dream asked him.

“Somewhere away from here,” he replied.

_ Meanwhile with Blueberry. _

Blueberry was currently going to where he knew Fell would always go to: His favorite spot. His favorite spot was the underneath a tree on top of a hill in the park Dad always took them to. Blueberry ran up the hill, not surprised to see Fell there, asleep while leaning against the bark.

The reason he had went to Fell’s spot to see him was not to tell him off, but to simply try and confess his feelings. Blueberry always went here with Fell to try and confess his feelings, but it never seemed to work. He never knew what he did wrong that made Fell seem to hate everyone, as he always was angry with his adopted siblings.

You see, Gaster, their Dad, had adopted them, but that didn’t mean Blueberry didn’t have feelings for Fell. He saw through the hard exterior that was his outer shell. Deep down, he knew that Fell was a good person inside. He was going to try to bring that person out.

“Fell, wake up,” Blueberry whispered, poking lightly at Fell’s cheekbone. He didn’t stir.

“C’mon, buddy. Wake up,” he tried once more, poking a bit harder this time.

“I don’t want to get up, Boss…” Fell grunted softly, turning over in his sleep.

Blueberry blushed lightly. This wasn’t going to work. He needed to do what usually worked.

“WAKE UP, FELL!” Blueberry screamed at the top of his lungs, and Fell immediately jumped awake, startled.

“What the hell?!” Fell yelled. “I was trying to take a nap!”

Blueberry just simply smiled, sitting down next to him. “I wanted to talk.”

“Again?! Why now?” he asked with a frown.

Blueberry booped him above his nose. “Because!” he said plainly.

Fell was starting to get annoyed. He vigorously rubbed at the spot Blueberry had touched. “Because what?” he growled, his frown growing deeper.

“Because, Fell, I just wanted to talk,” Blueberry said kindly, looking away while smiling.

“If that’s all you want to do, you might as well leave,” Fell said, looking over at him, but was surprised to see him frowning as well.

“But that’s the thing, Fell,” he said. “I don’t want to leave. Don’t you understand that?” He looked desperately into Fell’s eyes, as if searching for something.

Fell looked back, honestly feeling a little freaked out, but he was confused. He was confused as to why Blueberry didn’t want to leave. Fell always yelled at him when he came here and he never left in the end, but Fell wasn’t sure what he himself wanted.

Blueberry looked away, looking a bit upset. He stood up, walking away a small distance before turning around to face Fell. He spoke from his heart.

“If you want me to leave, that’s fine. Maybe one day you’ll understand.”

Then he walked off.

_ Meanwhile with Gradient and Paperjam. _

Gradient rather happily had went outside with Paperjam to draw with markers and paint on paper. He was very comfortable around Paperjam and was much less shy around her. However, he went back to his quiet self around others, even if PJ was around him. 

Currently, they were drawing their own pieces of artwork for Ink as gifts. Gradient was trying desperately to hide as much of his drawing as he possibly could from Paperjam.

“C’mon, lemme’ see!” Paperjam was saying, peeking over Gradient’s shoulder.

Gradient hunched his shoulders further. “No, it’s not done…” he whined.

“Oh, alright,” Paperjam pouted, leaning away to finish her own drawing.

They continued to draw, but Gradient was beginning to get curious as to what Paperjam was working on.

_ “I’m a hypocrite,” _ he thought to himself, but he shook his head quickly.

“Hey PJ. You almost done?” Gradient asked her.

“Yep!” PJ said, holding up the drawing for him to see. “Ta-da!”

“Oh, wow!” Gradient exclaimed, stars in his eyes. He had always admired Paper’s art style.

The drawing was of Ink sitting in his usual outfit, which consisted of a blue jacket tied around his waist, a brown t-shirt over a chocolate-colored long-sleeved one. His lower attire was extremely similar, except he wore brown sneakers with yellow laces. He had a sash that had jars of paint attached, almost like what a soldier would have but with grenades.

Ink was sitting on top of an explosion of color, gazing at the beautiful northern lights in the sky. Ink’s expression was perfectly matched to one of longing distress. It was absolutely marvelous in Gradient’s opinion.

“Paper, this is gorgeous!” he said after admiring the details.

“Oh, really?” Paperjam said, scratching at the back of her neck and seeming embarrassed. “I didn’t think it was that good.”

“Are you kidding?” Gradient almost shouted. “It’s awesome. You should give yourself more credit.”

“Thanks, Gradient,” PJ said, smiling generously.

Paperjam looked at the paint and markers and her eyes suddenly widened. She looked back at Gradient, grinning a mischievous grin.

“What is it?” Gradient asked suspiciously.

“I have an idea,” she said.


	3. The Prank

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PJ and Gradient decide to prank Error, but it all goes wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on Chapter 4 soon! Hope you guys enjoy reading! <3 Also, I keep accidentally putting Paperjam as a He instead of a She so I triple-checked to make sure they were all She's!

Previously:

_ Paperjam looked at the paint and markers and her eyes suddenly widened. She looked back at Gradient, grinning a mischievous grin. _

_ “What is it?” Gradient asked suspiciously. _

_ “I have an idea,” she said. _

She picked up the makers and the brushes, handing them to Gradient, her other hand cupping his hand and the supplies.

“Let’s prank Error!” she said excitedly, her eyes filled with wonder and awe at the thought.   
Gradient looked a bit nervous. “I don’t know, PJ. What if he gets mad at us? More specifically, me?”

“Oh, c’mon,” Paper said, waving him off. “You gotta’ learn to loosen up every once in a while.”

Gradient looked at her hand cupping his and his face turned slightly yellow in color. He knew he was blushing a bit. He looked back up to see Paper staring at him expectantly, patiently too. 

“Fine,” Gradient said. “But when he realizes, it’s on you!”

They opened the sliding glass door and went downstairs, seeing Error sleeping peacefully on the couch. He looked almost… vulnerable, like a child lost without their mother. Gradient almost felt a little sorry for him, the way he was frowning like that, but Paperjam urged him forward.

Their plan was to use markers to draw as much hilarious objects on Error’s face they could think of. Gradient took the initiative, drawing what looked to be a mustache underneath Error’s upside-down heart nose. 

It was bright pink.

They were already ready to burst into laughter, snickering silently as Gradient tried to stifle his own laughter while Paperjam drew a yellow monocle on Error’s left eye.

“Oh my god, I can’t breath,” Paperjam wheezed, bending down onto her knees as she gulped in air while Gradient drew the letter, “L,” on his forehead, signifying the word, “Loser.”

“Hey what are you bro’s doin’?” a voice breathed.

Paperjam and Gradient turned around to see Geno and Fresh coming down the stairs. They seemed to understand that a prank was taking place in the living room, so they walked down the stairs as quietly as possible.

“Come see for yourself,” PJ said, stepping out of the way with Gradient.

They both looked at Error’s face, and it looked absolutely ridiculous. Fresh tried desperately not to laugh, but he couldn’t hold it in, and he burst into a fit of hysterical giggles, his hand on his forehead as he tried to stifle the last bits he was letting out.

Everyone else knew that if Error woke up, they were in for something terrible. They looked over at him, only to see that he was indeed stirring.

“W-What… What’s going on?” he said, sitting up and looking around the crowd of his adopted roommates. “Why are you all crowded around me?”

“You were yelling in your sleep,” Gradient lied quickly.

“Y-Yeah!” Geno said, cursing his stutter. “We wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Error’s eyes widened for the briefest moment, as if he was mortified for the slightest millisecond, but it was gone as soon as it had came. Gradient had seen it, but he wasn’t sure what it had been.

“I was yelling? Oh. Well, I’m going to go to the bathroom,” he said, getting up and walking upstairs.

As soon as he was out of sight, Paperjam breathed out, “Oh, no.”

They all cringed as they heard a deafening screech come from the bathroom, Error coming out moments later and stomping down the stairs. He pointed at his face.

“Alright, who did it?! Who’s the culprit?” he screamed, his voice more glitchy than ever before.

Geno and Fresh immediately pointed at both Paperjam and Gradient respectively, fast-walking off while whistling as if nothing had happened.   
PJ and Gradient immediately ran away, laughing. Error screamed while running after them, following them through the kitchen then back upstairs and down many hallways. Both of them finally made it to Ink’s room, slamming the door shut while trying to hold the door closed as Error banged on it.

“Guys?!” Ink said, bewildered. “What did you do this time?!”

“We pranked Error,” PJ said. “I don’t think he’s very happy with us.”

“I’M EXTREMELY INFURIATED!” Error screamed from behind the door, striking the door even harder than from before.

“Just help us!” Gradient breathed, and Ink went over to help them by holding the door knob.   
Error seemed to be getting more and more angrier by the second. He kept hitting the door over and over, and he wasn’t getting tired at all.   
“What have you guys gotten me into?” Ink said exasperatedly, his eyes wide with worry.

The strikes from Error proved to be too strong for the three. Without warning, the door burst open. A multitude of things happened at once.

Error, once he had burst the door open, charged in with his eyes shut tight and crashed straight into Ink. He landed on top of him in a great heap while Gradient and PJ were forced to dodge out of the way. 

“Ow, my face…” Error groaned, standing up with just his arms. Ink was beneath him, unconscious.

Error was completely flustered at the sight of Ink underneath him, and he blushed deeply. He looked so… peaceful. He immediately rolled off of him, laying on his back and letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

Almost as soon as he had got off of Ink, Error stood up, walking out of the room.

“What was that?” Gradient whispered, and PJ shrugged. They both looked at Ink, only for their eyes to widen in horror.

His skull was cracked.

“Oh, no,” PJ said with terror, her voice shaky.

“What do we do?” Gradient said. “Should we try to wake him up?”

“No, that might be dangerous,” PJ said, shaking her head. “Let’s wait here until he wakes up on his own.”

“Okay.”

_ Meanwhile with Geno and Fresh. _

When Geno and Fresh had walked off whistling away, they had actually went to the store to try and find a gift for Ink. They went through many sections, but nothing seemed right for what they were going for.

“Hey, what about these radical paintbrushes, yo’?” Fresh was saying, holding up a brush kit.

Geno took it, examining it before shaking his head. “Nah, these aren’t his type of brushes that he normally uses. He would probably be upset inside.”

“Dang, dawg. I thought we had the perfect freebie,” Fresh said, pushing up his square sunglasses, which had the words, “YOLO,” on them.

“Oh!” Geno suddenly said out loud. “Remember how Ink always said he wanted a skateboard when we were younger?”

“Oh, that’d be totally fresh as heck, dude!” Fresh said loudly. “We could be skating buddies.”   
And so they went to the sports section.

The skateboard they found had paint splatters all over it and was colored grey as a base. They paid for it and teleported home.

When they walked through the door, they didn’t expect to see what they saw.

Ink was walking down the stairs shakily, being supported by Gradient and Paperjam. He had a large crack in his skull on the upper left section, and he looked dazed.

“Bro, what happened while we were gone?!” Fresh said in dismay.

“Error happened,” PJ said simply, and Fresh and Geno exchanged worried glances.

Right then and there, the front door opened, and everyone looked over to see Blueberry and Fell walking in. They saw ink’s cracked skull and their expressions immediately became ones of concern.

“What happened?” Fell asked with his scruffy voice.

“It’s a long story,” PJ said to him. “It’s best if we explain it later.”

Everyone sat Ink on the couch and decided as a group to ask him questions, just to be safe.

Geno held up four bony fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?” he said.

“Four,” Ink said immediately.

Everyone held their breath. Blueberry decided to ask him one more in case he lost his memory.

“What’s your name?” he asked him.

“Ink,” he said at once.

Everyone except Ink sighed in relief. The crack still looked pretty massive in comparison to his past injuries, so they all decided to ask Dad to go to the doctor when he got back.

“So… who’s going to tell the Dadster?” Fresh said, breaking the impending silence.

“Not it,” Blueberry suddenly shouted.

“Not it.”

“Not it.”

“Totally not it.”

“Not it.”

“Not i-“ Fell was about to say, but he growled as he realized that he was the last to say it.

“I guess you’re it, Fell,” Geno laughed, but backed off at the glare he received from Fell.

“Well, if I’m  _ it _ then I’m in charge,” Fell said triumphantly, and everyone groaned in response. Fell seemed not to hear them.

“We should probably take Ink to his room to rest,” Gradient suggested and everyone nodded in approval.

“And maybe a bowl of soup as well?” Blueberry added with a pointed finger.

“Let’s just do microwaveable soup,” PJ said.

“Yeah, the last time we tried to make our own rad-tastic soup, it got totally burnt, bro,” Fresh said, and everyone shuddered at the memory.

Geno and Fresh decided that they would make the thin soup while Fell and Blueberry would help Paperjam and Gradient with Ink to the stairs. As they were walking to his room, Blueberry could’ve sworn he had heard soft, muffled crying sounds coming from Error’s room, but he put it off as his imagination and shrugged.

Ink barely was able to stay awake to eat the soup, but he managed. He fell asleep almost at once after he was done eating. The gang decided to let him rest.

Geno and Fresh decided not to wrap their gift and they just hid the skateboard in the garage. They put a bow on the skateboard to signify that it was still a gift. Fell was currently trying to figure out why Blueberry was avoiding him and giving him the silent treatment. Paperjam had put her present in a box and wrapped it while Gradient had yet to finish his artwork, but he was currently working on it in his colorful room.

Everyone was content.

_ Meanwhile with Error. _

After the incident with Ink, Error had immediately walked off to his bedroom, knowing full-well what he had done. He had cracked Ink’s skull. Yet he couldn’t get the image of Ink’s face out of his head. His parted mouth, his closed eye sockets, his peaceful expression, and the fact that Error had been right on top of him! 

What was  _ wrong _ with him? 

He shouldn’t have just barged in there like he did. Then Ink wouldn’t have gotten hurt. He didn’t usually care for anyone other than himself, but now…?

Now he was thinking non-stop about Ink, and it was driving him mad.

Why did he care so much? He wasn’t sure why he was worried over that splatter of paint, but he was finding that he kept going back to thinking about it. Was he seriously injured? What if he was? What if it was a permanent injury that couldn’t be fixed? He didn’t know what would happen, but he knew he was overthinking it.

Error knew he had done something wrong, and there was no escaping Dad’s wrath.


	4. A Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blueberry and Fell sort out something while there seems to be something wrong with Ink...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 is ready! Will post tomorrow! Chapter 6 I am working on currently, but I am almost done with! Will be ready soon (:  
> Update: Chapter 5 is posted, Chapter 6 is ready, and Ch 7 am working on :D  
> Also, fixed a problem with the chapter. Gaster had gotten a gift for Ink but in chapter 5, he didn't give the gift to Ink as if it didn't exist. Fixed that in this chapter so that he didn't get the gift in the first place. (No big deal!)

Nightmare had went to take a walk in the park Dad always took them to after he had helped Dream with his present. He always went there to get his mind off of things.

He thought about his adopted roommates. He knew he was pretty much a snarky jerk towards Dream. He hated that Dream was right when he said that Nightmare manipulated him. He wasn’t sure why he hated Dream so much. Maybe it we’d a sibling thing; who knows.

Well, it was time for Nightmare to go back anyways. When he teleported back to the house, he was a bit bemused to see no one in the living room. He had expected to find that his roommates were fighting or  _ something _ , but there was nothing.

Confused, he decided to go upstairs into his room to work on his gift for Ink. He couldn’t just use Dream’s gift as an excuse for his. Otherwise, Dad would be  _ super _ mad at him.

_ Meanwhile with Fell. _

Fell had no idea what he had done wrong. All he had  _ thought _ he had done was talk to Blueberry at his spot, like always. Blueberry had said that one day he’ll, “understand,” but Fell didn’t know what that meant at all.

He was currently trying to talk to Blueberry every chance he got. Whether it be working on his gift for Ink or simply just being right there next to him, he always was trying. 

"You can't keep being silent forever, Blueberry," Fell was saying.

Blueberry was sitting down and he simply continued eating his afternoon snack in peace. He yawned.

"C'mon, Berry, what did I do? You can tell me," Fell said kindly, which surprised him because he usually spat things as if he had acid on his tongue.

This time, Blueberry turned to face him, simply looking through him. He crossed his arms, as if waiting for something to happen.

"I really don't know what I did..." Fell said weakly, letting his words fade away.

"Oh, really?" Blueberry finally said, and Fell looked up at him, a bit shocked.

He continued without remorse. "So help me god, Fell, you seriously are dense," he spat. "You really want to know? Fine. You hurt my feelings  _ because _ you're dense. Don't you get it? You told me to leave, yet I didn't want to. It can really hurt someone if they-" he stopped in the middle of his sentence, clenching his mouth shut.

"If they what?" Fell asked, now seriously intrigued.

"I can't tell you," Blueberry breathed out finally, as if he had been holding his breath.

"Look, I'm sorry if I said anything to make you upset. Can we just be friends again?" Fell said, holding out his hand for him to shake.

Blueberry visibly flinched, but Fell didn't seem to notice. "Yeah. Friends," he said, taking his hand and shaking it.

_ Meanwhile with the Dadster. _

Gaster had finally finished his grocery shopping. He had everything from the checklist: a birthday cake, balloons, streamers, and some other party decorations.

He was currently walking home, which was just in view and a short distance away. He couldn't teleport like the kids could, but he could open portals to different timelines. That was how he took everyone to the park when he could.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see nobody in the living room. There was no screaming or sounds of something that signified a fight, so he instinctively sighed in relief, putting the groceries on the kitchen counter. He put the cake away in the fridge and put the party decorations in the closet.

"Kids!" he called out. "I'm home!"

When nobody responded, Gaster became a bit worried. Usually at least some of the kids would come bounding down the stairs, coming up to him and ask about his day or something. Nothing had happened when he had called out. He tried again.

"Kids? I have cake!" he yelled.

There was no response once more. He decided he would go upstairs to Ink room. Surely he would be excited to know that he had gotten him cake. He strolled up the creaking stairs, going to Ink's room and opening the door.

When he opened the door, what he saw shocked him.

Ink was in his bed, panting heavily, his skull with a large crack in it.

"BOYS!" Gaster roared, and the kids seemed to hesitantly peek their heads out their bedroom doors. "Get out here. NOW."

Everyone gloomily made there way over to Ink's room, some more pale than others. They went inside his room, looking even more scared at Ink's worse condition.

"What could have possibly happened while I was gone?!" Gaster asked exasperatedly. "And be honest!"

Everyone looked over at Fell, as if they knew he was going to say something. He audibly swallowed, his eyes shifting around the room nervously.

"Ask Paperjam and Gradient. I don't know the full story," he said extremely cautiously.

Gaster's eyes went over to the two, and they explained everything. From when they pranked Error to the incident with Error assaulting Ink's bedroom door, they told him basically everything. Shamefully, they also told him that Ink's skull cracked when Error charged into the room and his head had collided with Ink's. Error just had a blank stare throughout the entire explanation, though he seemed as if he wanted to say something.

"This is absolutely unacceptable," Gaster was saying. "And before Ink's birthday too. We might as well delay the birthday date. Ink needs professional help right now."

"Everyone, we're going to the E.R," Gaster said, pulling out his phone as Ink suddenly seemed to be getting worse.


	5. Everything's Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink is taken to the E.R. and has surgery while Error meets someone strange...

_ Previously: _

_ "This is absolutely unacceptable," Gaster was saying. "And before Ink's birthday too. We might as well delay the birthday date. Ink needs professional help right now." _

_ "Everyone, we're going to the E.R," Gaster said, pulling out his phone as Ink suddenly seemed to be getting worse. _

"Is he going to be okay?" Dream asked worriedly. "He's going to be okay, right?"

Gaster looked sympathetic. "Of course, Dream. Everything's going to be alright," he said.

Geno went over to feel Ink's forehead, and was surprised to feel a searing hot fever. Glancing at the others with wide eyes, he said, "He's burning up!"

Ink seemed to be waking up right then and there. His breathing quickened; he was beginning to hyperventilate. Gaster's eyes widened and he quickly dialed 911. He wasn't sure what was causing Ink such pain, but it had to have been from the crack in his skull.

"What's he doing?!" Error yelled, seeming to be freaked out by all this.

"Ink, are you okay?!" Nightmare asked, even he himself seeming to be worried.

"Oh my god, what are we going to do," Fresh said, seeming to have dropped his signature talking-style for this moment.

"Everyone calm down, please," Gaster said, still on the phone.

"911, what's the emergency?" the person on the other end said.

"My kid, a skeleton, has a crack in their skull. Uh, their hyperventilating and they have a high fever," Gaster said quickly in a panic. "Please, hurry!"

"What's the address?"

"The Omega Timeline, House #1," Gaster said.

"Alright, we'll be there with an ambulance in about five minutes," said the other end and Gaster hung up immediately, picking up Ink bridal style.

"Everyone to the front patio!" Gaster shouted, and they all bolted around him and towards the front door.

The ambulance arrived soon after that, everyone standing awkwardly around Gaster and Ink. The air was tense as Ink was laid down on a stretcher, his breathing seeming to be getting worse by the minute.

"Is he going to be alright?" Paperjam sniffed, her eyes brimming with tears.

Gaster became sympathetic. "He will be. I'm sure of it," he said, pulling everyone into a great, big group hug.

Gaster asked a nearby associate what address they were taking Ink to, and they told him about the nearest E.R. location. Gaster said he would meet them there and he opened a portal to waiting room, surprising everyone that was in there.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Gaster asked, gesturing to the portal. "Everyone in."

Everyone one by one stepped into the portal and sat down in each of the chairs. The portal closed after everyone was in, and Gaster told the receptionist their situation, telling them that they were meeting an emergency patient here.

The wait was long and anxious, several minutes going by before there was any sign that Ink was anywhere near their location. When Ink finally arrived, he was attached to an I.V and an oxygen mask, being quickly pushed by on a stretcher past the waiting room. The gang, including Gaster, dashed to follow the monsters pushing Ink to wherever he was being pushed to.

Everything was silent as Ink was lead to a room labeled, "Operating Room." They were forced to stop following as they sat down in chairs or leaned on the wall.

"Hey, Error," Gradient gathered the confidence to talk to Error.  He had been meaning to talk to Error for a while about this now. "Can I talk to you for a sec'?"

Error gave him a funny look. "Yeah, sure." They walked over to a private area, beginning to speak.

"What is it?" Error croaked, looking tired. Gradient took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

"Do you regret it?" he said finally.

Silence.

"...What?" Error said after a moment.

"Do you regret hurting Ink?" he repeated.

"Do I regret- Of course I regret it!" Error snapped. "Why wouldn't I after all that's happened?"

"Well, when you crashed into Ink, you walked off as if nothing had happened, as if you didn't do it. Why is that?" Gradient asked, seeming to be gaining more confidence.

"Because I-" Error paused, his face turning deep crimson after a moment. "I don't know why," he mumbled.

Gradient looked at his flushed face, confused. "Why are you-"

"Don't ask!" Error suddenly interrupted, growling. And with that, he walked back to the group. Gradient shrugged it off.

Little did they know, Blueberry had been watching them.

It was several hours before a doctor eventually walked out of the operating room. Everyone who was sitting down stood up and everyone who was leaning on the wall perked up.

"It was a success," the doctor said simply. "He will get sick very easily from now on, but it was a success."   
Everyone cheered. Gaster told them that he would  go into the room first, as he was their father-like figure. He came back out moments later, gesturing for everyone to come in.

"Come on, now. Don't come in all at once. He's a bit dazed," Gaster rambled, and they all slowly went in.

"Hey, guys," Ink's weak voice said.

"Ink!" everyone shouted in unison, even Fell. 

They all ran up to his bed, seeing an I.V. bag attached to his arm. Ink was lying in bed, sitting upright with a tray of food in his lap. He did seem a bit dazed, but he looked alright nonetheless. Gaster went to go to the bathroom while they reunited with their friend.

"We were so worried about you, dude," Fresh said, his beam brightening up the room.

“Yeah. Even Fell seemed concerned!” Blueberry piped up and Fell grumbled.

“He had to be. Your with the gang, our gang,” Dream said, and Ink smiled wider than he had in a couple days.

“Thanks, guys,” Ink said generously. “So what happened while I was asleep?” he asked.

“You probably don’t remember, but you woke up and had what looked like a panic attack to me,” Nightmare explained.

“No, I think the damage was so great that it was affecting his entire body,” Geno said, and everyone agreed with that.

“Dad had found out about what happened to you, what caused the crack in your skull,” Paperjam added.

“Aw, bro, Dad was soo mad,” Fresh laughed, but everyone else shivered.

“You got so bad - you were breathing so hard - that you had to be taken to the emergency room,” Error added finally, but he was frowning.

“I couldn’t do anything,” Error suddenly said. He continued in a frantic manner, his hands on his head. “I couldn’t help, I didn’t-”

“Error?” someone asked, but Error didn’t know who. He had been panicking and wasn’t listening.

He looked up, only to see everyone staring at him. Ink’s expression was one of concern, worry, and even a little bit of fright. Ink, if only a little bit, was afraid. Error didn’t want Ink to be afraid of him. No, in fact, he wanted to complete opposite. But what  _ was _ the complete opposite?

Error looked around at everyone, overwhelmed. He suddenly dashed out of the room, without a plan as to where he was going. Thinking quickly, he decided to teleport to the park. Yes, at the park, he was safe. At the park, he didn’t have to be bothered.

At the park, he was free.

Error went to sit on the swings, but didn’t swing on them. Instead, he simply sat unmoving, thinking. He didn’t have much time for thinking, however, for someone found him there.

It was… a child.

They looked to be completely monochrome in color, small in stature and having black holes for eyes, which reminded Error of eye sockets. He looked at the child, bewildered.

“Who are you?” he hissed, not wanting to take any chances with anyone, even if they were a child.

“It does not matter who I am,” they said at once, smiling a small smile. Before Error could argue, they continued. “What matters is that you seem upset?” They said it almost like a question, as if they were unsure.

“I’m not upset!” Error retorted. “I’m just… thinking about some things.”   
“What kind of things?” the innocent child asked.

“Stupid things,” he responded. “Things that a mere child like you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh, trust me,” the child giggled. “I know a  _ lot  _ more than you would think.”

Before Error could ask what that meant, he saw Geno and Fresh appear in the far distance. He looked over to them, and when he looked back at to ask the child that question, they were gone.

“What the-” Error mumbled to himself, baffled. Oh, well.

“Hey, Error!” Geno called out, running up to him with Fresh. Once they caught up, Fresh asked, “What’s with you, man?”

“What’s with  _ me _ ?” Error spat. “What about what’s with Ink?”

“What? Dude, he just recovered,” Geno said, confused. “What could be wrong with him?”

“Yeah, you just ran out on us dudes. That was totally un-fresh of you,” Fresh said, frowning a bit.

“I didn’t mean- I didn’t know- I didn’t want-” Error stumbled upon his words like a baby. Geno and Fresh were even more confused because Error was usually never like this. He was usually headstrong, ready to take anything that took him.

Now he just seemed like he was completely lost.

“Are you okay, Error?” Geno asked, uncertain.

Error looked confused at the question, as if he had never been asked it before. He finally said slowly, “I don’t know.”

Geno and Fresh exchanged worried looks. Was it really that bad that Error didn’t even know if he was alright?   
“C’mon, let’s just go back to Ink’s hospital room. They’re going to take him home right about now, okay?” Geno said.

“...Okay,” Error said after a while, following Geno and Fresh as they teleported to the hospital.


	6. Ink's Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink finally has his birthday party after a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7 is already ready, just waiting to post (I can't believe I'm actually getting things done!). Working on chapter 8!

Previously:

_ “C’mon, let’s just go back to Ink’s hospital room. They’re going to take him home right about now, okay?” Geno said. _

_ “...Okay,” Error said after a while, following Geno and Fresh as they teleported to the hospital. _

 

Ink was taken home in a wheelchair due to hospital policy requiring him to. He went through the portal and stood up as soon as he was on the front patio, being supported by his best friend, Dream, and another close friend, Blueberry. It was currently night time, so they decided that they would do the birthday party in the morning. They brought Ink upstairs and to his room where he immediately fell asleep.

Gaster assigned everyone else the fun task of putting up the party decorations while he blew up the balloons. They went to bed after that and it was soon the next, early morning.

All including Gaster woke up extremely early as to make sure they all woke up before Ink. The plan was to hide around the house with the lights off, Gaster turning them on as everyone jumped out once Ink walked down the stairs.

It was a good plan.

_ Meanwhile with Ink. _

Ink woke up from a peaceful sleep, ready to take on the day. He got out of his bed, so busy thinking about yesterday’s events that he completely forgot about his party. It was about ten o'clock in the morning, so Ink got ready and headed downstairs.

“Surprise!” 

A chorus of voices boomed, everyone jumping out from various hiding spots as Ink was so startled that he almost fell down the stairs in joyful fear.

His birthday; how could he have forgotten! He smiled, seeing everyone smiling back in a similar light.

“Hey, guys!” he said excitedly. 

“Come on down, Ink,” Dad said warmly, gesturing to himself. “The party’s only beginning!”

Congratulation after congratulation, Ink was clapped on the back as he smiled sheepishly, embarrassed with all the attention. He found that everyone began to split off in different directions, chatting with their own little groups as they ate food and had soft beverages. He wandered to the group that contained Nightmare, Dream, and Blueberry.

“Hello,” Ink greeted them.

They all responded with their own unique greetings.

“Ink, hey!” Dream said cheerfully.

“Hiya, Ink!” Blueberry chirped.

“Hey, it’s my favorite little numbskull!” Nightmare said last, taking Ink under his elbow and ruffling the top of his head with his fist.

“Alright. Alright, quit your rough-play,” Ink joked, and Nightmare let go of him.

“So, Ink,” Blueberry started. “We’ve all heard the story by now, and we’ve been wondering if you’ve heard about it yet,” he said curiously.

“What… story?” Ink said suspiciously. “Is there something I don’t know that you guys do?”

“Uh, well-“ Dream stammered, his face going pink. “There is something…”

Ink raised a brow, if that was even possible. “And?”

Nightmare walked off while no one was noticing to the punch bowl.

“Well, Error sort of kind of maybe fell on top of you while you were unconscious?” Dream said, his voice getting higher pitched as he spoke every word.

“And he was blushing rather madly, I might add,” Blueberry said sheepishly. “Also, he may have hesitated to get off of you during all that.”

Ink was silent, his face turning a deep crimson. Then he said the one thing that was on his mind.

“He did what?” Ink asked, his face blazing at this point.

“You heard us,” Dream said. “Hey, where’s Nightmare?” And then he quickly went off to find him.

Blueberry was about to swiftly make his escape with him, but Ink stopped him.

“Wait!” he called out. Blueberry winced, turning around and listening.

“You said everyone’s heard the story. How does everyone know it by now? Ink asked, extremely curious about what was going on in his own house.

“Ask Gradient,” Blueberry said at once, smirking mischievously. “He’ll have what you’re looking for.”

And he walked off.

Ink was confused as to why Gradient, out of all the skeletons in the house would have the information he needed, but he shrugged anyway. Ink looked around for Gradient after that, but found that he was nowhere in sight. He saw Geno and Fresh talking, as they were becoming close, and he saw Paperjam and Fell, but he didn’t see Gradient, nor Error.

He went upstairs, knowing that he might be in his own room, and he was correct in guessing this. When he opened Gradient’s door, Gradient was in his room drawing what looked to be a-   
But Gradient was too quick. He immediately covered his drawing as soon as he saw Ink in the doorway.

“Don’t look!” he whisper-yelled. 

Ink put his hands up in defeat. “Sorry,” he said.

Ink sat down next to Gradient, not looking at the drawing as Gradient continued to draw. He hesitated to say what he wanted to say, not sure if it was the right time to say it.

“Hey, Gradient,” he said slowly and carefully. “Blueberry said that-”

“I know what Blueberry said,” Gradient suddenly interrupted. “I was listening.”

“Oh,” Ink said simply, at a loss for words.

They sat in silence for a moment, the only sounds being the scratching of Gradient’s pencil on the paper. Then Gradient lifted his head up, speaking once more.

“You know, Error told me something weird the other day,” he said rather nonchalantly. 

“What did he say?” Ink asked, even more curious than he would’ve been since he heard that story.

“Well, I had asked him if he regret hurting you, since he just walked off like it was nothing!” Gradient said dramatically. “And you know what he said?”

“What?” Ink leaned in closer to hear what he had to say.

“He said, ‘I don’t know.’!” Gradient shouted. “It’s as if he was _ trying  _ to hurt you, but I don’t believe that concept. Do you?”

“I don’t think so…” Ink said, unsure.

“Well, you know why I don’t believe it? He was blushing when he answered,” Gradient said as a matter of factly. 

“Really?” Ink said, wonder in his eyes. 

Ink wasn’t sure, but he was starting to think that Error actually liked him. He didn’t seem to like him as a friend anymore after that incident.

“Do you think… Does he…?” Ink asked, still uncertain.

“I don’t know, but you should go ask him. I’m sure he has conflicting feelings going on in there,” Gradient said to him wisely.

“I’ll ask him when I can,” Ink said to him, and he walked out of Gradient’s room.

“Kids! Presents!” Gaster called.

Just as Ink was bounding down the stairs in excitement, everyone else except for Gradient were already sat in a neat circle near the coffee table in the living room. They all seemed to have their gifts ready in their arms. Ink sat in the middle of the circle, ready to accept his gifts.   
“Anyone can go first if they’d like,” Gaster said, and everyone immediately began to talk over one another.

“Me! Me!”

“I wanna’ go!”

“Lemme’ go first!”

“I’ll go first,” Nightmare’s slimy voice boomed, and things settled down finally.

When Ink opened the gift, he was astounded to find a stuffed animal of a small kitten, something he’d never thought Nightmare would get him.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so cute!” he squealed, pulling the stuffed animal into a tight hug. 

Nightmare groaned. “Ugh, I was expecting this,” he said, lowering to the floor as he blushed.

“Oh! I almost forgot,” Ink said. “Just so I don’t have to say, ‘thanks,’ every time, thanks in advance, everyone!”

“You’re welcome,” everybody said in unison.

Ink thanked Nightmare too, and he was handed another present from Blueberry.

From Blueberry, he received a brand new scarf, which he was very thankful for. His other one was getting rather old and ripped. He got a journal from Fell, which he was surprised about because that was very generous of Fell. From Geno and Fresh, he got a gnarly skateboard covered in paint splatters. He found it to be rather cool. Paperjam has given him the most beautiful drawing he had ever seen from her. He thanked her as such. 

Dream, along with Nightmare somehow, gave him one of the coolest gifts of them all. It was a glass souvenir. It was a flower vase, but the flowers were not flowers; they were stars!

“Hey, where’s Gradient?” Ink asked. He suddenly noticed that Gradient wasn’t in the circle. He thought he had come down with him.

“Right here,” a voice said. 

Everybody looked over to see Gradient walking down the stairs, holding up a beautiful piece of artwork. It was a pencil drawing of Ink’s portrait.

Ink’s eyes widened at the sight of it. There was such depth and detail, he wasn’t sure as to how he could’ve done it all with just a pencil. Ink said his thanks as he admired the work.

“Error! Error! Your turn,” Blueberry cheered, pointing to Error.

Error immediately looked down, embarrassed. He shook with fear, though he didn’t know why he did. Everyone stared. 

“Aren’t you going to give your gift, Error?” Gaster said sharply.

Error suddenly reached into his pocket, pulling out a poorly wrapped sort of sphere. It looked almost like a crumpled up piece of paper yet it didn’t look light at all. Handing it to Ink, Error’s fingers grazed Ink’s, and he flinched away, letting the crumpled ball fall into Ink’s hands.

“What the heck is that?” Fresh asked. 

Ink responded by carefully unwrapping the thin and dry paper. Inside was… a rock.

But it wasn’t just any old rock. It was a crystal rock. Absolutely glittering with color, it shined like the beautiful morning sun. It was gorgeous!

“Error…!” Ink gasped, still awestruck by the crystal beauty that was the rock. “This is wonderful!”

Error’s head shot up, his face a bright red and his eyes wide. “Really?” he said with shock.

“Yeah! It’s awesome! This is one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had!” Ink exclaimed in pure happiness, and Error smiled wider than he had in years.

Blueberry suddenly wrapped his arms around Ink. “Group hug!” he shouted.

Everybody laughed, embracing the start of a new beginning.


	7. Food Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Error meets that strange child again while a food fight occurs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8 I haven't even worked on yet >.> will start soon

Previously:

_ Blueberry suddenly wrapped his arms around Ink. “Group hug!” he shouted. _

_ Everybody laughed, embracing the start of a new beginning. _

 

It was after the birthday party, in the morning. Everyone was either playing video games or eating breakfast in the kitchen.

Ink was in a dilemma. Currently in his room, he was laying on his bed, thinking. He had been extremely thankful for all the gifts, of course, but the gift he was most thankful for… was Error’s. He didn’t know why, but the story from the other day had gotten him thinking. What if Error really did like him in that way? If so, did Ink like him in that way too? He didn’t know at all, but what he did know was that Error had been sincere with the gift, and Error was never sincere!

Ink turned over the crystal rock, examining it once more. He was mesmerized by the way it shimmered in the sunlight. He wondered where Error found such a work. 

Standing up from his bed, Ink decided that he would go to eat some breakfast. The rest of the gang thought he was asleep, after all.

_ Meanwhile with Gradient and Paperjam. _

Gradient and Paperjam were currently playing video games alone. They needed some well deserved time away from the others. They had begun to get as close as Dream and Ink in terms of best friend status almost. They were playing, “Mario Kart Wii.”

“Ha! I’m in the lead!” Paperjam shouted with pride, her eyes focused completely on the newly furnished television screen.

“Not for long,” Gradient said with a smirk, which Paperjam didn’t see for she was too focused on winning.

Within the game, Gradient threw an item called a blue shell, which heads straight towards whoever is in first place. The item crashes into them and explodes, causing them a massive delay in acceleration speed.  

“Ah, dang it!” Paperjam complained angrily, throwing her controller onto the ground. Paperjam’s character was thrown into the air as an explosion occurred near them.

Gradient’s in-game character took the lead just in time as they passed the finish line, winning the game.

“Haha, good game,” Gradient said, and they both bumped fists together.

“Do you want to play another game?” Gradient asked her.

“No, I want to gossip,” she said mischievously.

He snickered darkly in response. “Okay. What do you want to gossip about?”

“Well, obviously Ink and Error,” Paperjam said dully, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, them?” Gradient said, but then he smiled. “Oh, right. Error liking Ink.”

“Yeah,” she said, bringing her voice down to a whisper as so that they wouldn’t be heard by the others. “So how do you know for sure that Error likes Ink?”

“I don’t know for sure, but he was blushing when I asked him if he regret hurting Ink, as in when he walked out,” he said. “It’s pure speculation.”

“I see,” Paperjam said thoughtfully, her left hand on her chin and her right on her elbow. “Do you think Ink likes him back?”

“I don’t know, but he must be considering it by now. After all, everyone  _ including _ Ink knows the story of how Error hesitated to get off of Ink while he was unconscious,” Gradient recited.

“Yeah,” Paperjam said, seeming to be deep in thought.

“Hey, Gradient,” she suddenly said.

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t it stupid how we’re getting closer and closer as friends? We might as well be falling for each other like Ink and Error are!” she laughed.

Gradient went pale. He was so surprised by the statement that he blushed a bright green, his face feeling warm and sweaty.

When he didn’t respond, Paperjam said, “Gradient?”

“Uh, I… I-I mean, yeah! It is stupid…” he choked out, still a bit shocked at Paperjam saying such a thing.

Him and Paperjam? Falling for each other? They might as well go jump off a cliff and say, “Geronimo!” because they were ready for anything at this point. He wasn’t ready to be a couple, especially with someone like Paperjam. She was way out of his league.

“You alright, man?”

Paperjam snapped Gradient out of his thoughts, and he said he was okay. He excused himself and walked out of the room.

Meanwhile Paperjam was in her own little world. She was thinking about how Gradient had been a bit surprised by her answer. No, scratch that - he was more than surprised by her answer. 

Was he…?

No, that couldn’t be right. Gradient didn’t  _ like _ Paperjam. He couldn’t like her. There wasn’t any reason for him to like her. This was because Paperjam had a secret that only Dad knew. A secret so big, she would take it to her grave, not even bearing the thought of it getting out there.

And she was not going to tell anyone anytime soon.

That settled things for Paperjam, so she went out to go see what the others were doing.

_ Meanwhile in the kitchen. _

Geno and Fresh were just beginning to eat their oatmeal. Error was eating cereal without the milk. Nightmare and Dream were just finishing their breakfast while Blueberry, Ink and Fell were in the living room, watching television. 

“Stop flicking oats at me!” Nightmare growled, rubbing the bits of food that Dream had thrown off his face. 

Dream snickered, tossing a single oat onto his face once more. He simply grinned.

“I said to stop!” Nightmare yelled at Dream, wiping off the single oat again.

Dream only responded by throwing a _ spoonful  _ of oats onto Nightmare’s forehead.

“Alright, that’s it!” Nightmare said, standing up from the chair and picking up his bowl of oatmeal.

“You wanna’ play this game? Fine. Let’s play that game,” Nightmare said while grinning a wicked grin, chucking the entire bowl onto Dream’s head.

Dream gasped, his shoulders hunched in surprise as the mixture drenched his shirt. He let the bowl smash to the ground as he stood up as well, pumping up his fist and screaming, “Food fight!”

The kids who were in the living room stood up to join in on the chaos. There was a frantic stampede of footsteps as everyone rushed to the pantry, all except for Geno and Fresh, who each had a head start. 

They threw their bowls at Ink and Blueberry, in which Ink just barely managed to dodge out of the way. Blueberry, however, wasn’t so lucky. The bowl smashed into his side, letting him cry out an, “Oof!” as he landed on the floor, wounded. 

“Blueberry, no!” Ink cried out dramatically, though he was just doing it for fun. Blueberry pretended to be in immense pain, groaning and moaning as the cereal from the bowl pooled out underneath him.

“I-Ink…” he wheezed, trying not to laugh. “Say goodbye to my family for me…”

Then he dropped his head, faking his death.

“NOOO!” Ink wailed, holding Blueberry underneath his arms.

“You monster!” Ink shrieked as he looked over at Fresh, who’s bowl had landed the hit on Blueberry.

Ink screamed as he charged at Fresh, tackling him to the ground into a great bear hug.

While this was happening, Fell was rummaging through the fridge to try and find something to throw at someone. He found a perfectly sized turkey breast. He threw it at Nightmare, and it was a direct hit.

“AUGH!” he yelped, the turkey breast landing straight into his abdomen. “My stomach!”

Paperjam came downstairs at that very moment, joining in and throwing a package of frozen chicken nuggets at Geno’s legs, causing him to slip and fall onto his face.

It was ridiculously hilarious.

Error just continued to eat his milkless cereal amongst the battlefield. While everyone was distracted, he slipped out when no one was looking, teleporting to the park.

Error walked straight back to the swings and sat on them, hoping to see the same monochrome child from the other day.

“Hello, again,” a silky voice said.

Error’s head whipped around as he looked at the child from before. They were back, the same as ever.   
“Were you expecting me?” the child asked cheekily, sitting down on the swing next to Error.

“Yeah, sorta’,” Error said, distracted by his own thoughts. The child was always so vague.

“Well, I already know what you came here to talk about,” they said.   
“I doubt you really do,” Error said truthfully.

The child smiled. It was a bit creepy if Error stared at it long enough. “You came here to talk about Ink.”

Error whirled his head to meet the eyes of the child. How did they know about Ink?

As if they read his mind as accurately as possible, they said, “You probably wondering how I know him. Yes?”

“Yeah…” Error breathed, wondering how a child could be so mysterious.

“I’m sorry to tell you that I can’t tell you,” the child said. Error was about to argue once more with the child, but the child interrupted. “But! I can tell you what I know about Ink.”

“What is there to know about him?” Error grumbled, pouting. “He’s an artist, and I’m not. Simple.”

“Well…” they drawled. “He likes cats better than dogs, his favorite color is blue and  _ not  _ the rainbow like one would expect. He likes to draw his friends more than anything the world, and-”

“What about me?” Error abruptly interrupted. “What does Ink… think about me?”

“That I cannot tell you,” the child said simply. “And with that, I must take my leave. Take care!”

A cutting wind whooshed in front of Error’s face, causing him to blink once, then twice. As soon as he blinked the second time, the child had vanished.

“Weird kid…” Error murmured to himself.


End file.
